Thursday, May 28, 2015

Pancake Party Tradition

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 I'm choosing this one as the next post to update from my drafts because I am pumped about having three friends over tomorrow for breakfast!  We are changing things up, though, having waffles instead of pancakes!  I just got a waffle iron this morning, so we are going to put it to use right away!
Chantal, Cherie, Katlyn, and I have made it a tradition that we have a pancake breakfast together sometime while we are out of school during the winter.  This was our New Year's celebration!  Last year, we did the same day, too, so it was an anniversary!  However, that day we ran first, but this time we all did our own thing as we were all on a cross training time instead.
Another tradition of eating at my house is taking an action shot.  Behold our food-in-the-mouth photo!
If you don't know about the fancy cupcakes that the twins make, you will someday.  They will have a cupcakery, bakery, catering business or something!  As a best friend and almost-neighbor, I get the special privilege of taste-testing all their creations!  This one has a new peanut butter butter cream icing with mini dark chocolate chips!
Katlyn felt like she had been slacking on her core, so we decided that we would all work together to get stronger while we waited on our pancakes to cook!  Katlyn led us in some pushups then squats.
You know they are your true friends when you aren't embarassed to do pushups in front of them.  Let's be honest; there are few people who have a pretty pushup.
The next day I took some of that amazing icing and added it to my pancake topping!

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Team-Work Hard, Win Hard, Play Hard

 
This one was the next oldest post in my drafts, so it's the one for today!
As you know, I'm all about celebrating, especially if it's Christmas.  Mom must like it pretty good, too, because she is a lot more in the mood to have people over at our house and to fix things up!

Our cross country team is something special, not only because we win state championships.  We have a bond that is like family, but more special than that:  we all know things about each other that our families wouldn't know!  We have a sisterly love that is beyond that family obligation.  It's hard to explain all that a team goes through together, but it is an experience that few are blessed to know, and those who do will cherish for a lifetime!
That being said, my social life is basically the team, aka the girls.
 
When there is any reason to have a party, we girls work out a plan to get it done!  This is the 3rd year that my mom has offered up our house for a Christmas party.  It also helps that she makes the white trash.  I hear it all year long.  No matter where we are going, but if bringing snacks is an option, someone usually says, "Kenzie, your mom should make white trash!" which is followed by bulging eyes and agreeing comments from the rest.








Hobby Lobby is the place to shop.  Next to Target, this is where I would go broke if I wasn't so stingy with my money.  Hobby Lobby is also a place I love to buy things becasue they are a Christian-based business.  I can always go there and find notepads, pictures, decorations, paper, frames, calendars, cups, wrapping paper, gift bags, plates---you get it--all kinds of stuff that is encouraging.  They always have coupons available and deals going on in the store, too.  Mom and I picked out these plates with matching napkins, working in the reason for the season and Santa and his reindeer!
    
What I said earlier about Mom enjoying hosting Christmas shindigs?  She may act stressed and say she doesn't like it, but she does.  If she didn't this wouldn't happen. 
The vegetable Christmas tree?  Totally her idea.
I am a proud daughter.
Some other girls brought finger foods, too, and you can see the big bowl of white trash (don't worry, there was 2 more bowls that size for when we ran out).
    
While we waited on everyone to arrive, I started up the Wii and turned on Just Dance.  I feel goofy playing it in front of other people because I'm used to always playing by myself, but hey, we all look goofy.  The "expectation vs. reality" caption on the picture of Jessica and me is on point.  We try.
When everyone was ready, we got the food we wanted and voted on a movie.  Elf won, no surprise.  That movie never gets old.  A couple of the girls had never seen it, which blew the rest of our minds, so that made it even better!

Fam.

To wrap things up, we unwrapped things!
We invented our own random exchage process for who got what gift.  We didn't plan this, but we all ended up with a pair of fuzzy socks to wear, so as girls, we had to take a picture!

June is almost here, and that means cross country will be starting up in just days!  Then it will be party time again.

Monday, May 25, 2015

The Mean-Time-Inbetween Time

This is a combination of many miscellaneous things that I've come across from around New Year's through this spring.
There are pictures I've found amusing, funny, inspirational, and relative to life, foods and creations I've made, comics, and some awesome people!
Peanuts pictures are my favorite!  They're simple and make me smile.  Whether it's on instagram, twitter, facebook, or sent to me by a friend, I rarely go two days in a row without saving a new picture.
Cooking is one of my favorite things to do! 
This will be my husband and me one day.
My friends and I give each other heartfelt gifts.  We know each other so well, and always get each other surprises that other people would probably consider dumb, but we find them quite resourceful.  Last summer I started a trend of decorating bananas to give to my runner friends, and for Christmas, Katlyn gave me some!  We were a little late exchanging gifts, but that's another thing that makes our friendships so unique.  We know how things go!
Dad and Katlyn did a great job on these.  Dad cracked me up shopping at Bath and Body Works, but he did a fantastic job getting things for Mom and me!  Katlyn did well there, too.  I do love to ski.
During the winter, especially on breaks, my family goes out to eat dinner more often.  We made a couple trips each to Buddy's then TCBY and Akita then Sweet CeCe's.  This was our New Year's Eve celebration at Akita.  Who needs a party?  We are the party.
My neighborhood is full of people who run: me, of course; Danny, Megan, Cherie, Chantal, my Dad, the Wilson's dad, and even an older girl who ran several years ago, Bailee, whose mom now assists Coach Haas at West View XC!  Katlyn also lives nearby!  
Determined I am.
More visits to Regency for my grandmother!
The pretty pumpkin spice muffins that came from the Williams-Sonoma mix my mom got me for Christmas.
I fell in love with this picture of my dad and his sister when he showed it to me.  I think they still look the same!  Dad was such a happy baby!

After finally getting a pair of chacos for Christmas, it gave me so many more opportunities to show off my coordinating socks!  Bella's socks here really caught my eye, so I took a picture of our sockos.
My rain jacket, ski socks, and chacos matched perfectly, as well as kept me warm and dry while the weather was cold and wet this winter.

To add a little extra to my indoor cross training workout when I was cooped up inside, I ended each day with the #ScoreNotSore challenge by Daily Burn!  I like to participate in contests, even thought it's unlikely that I'll win, it's still fun!

This was another contest I did, #FeedYourDream by The Feed.  This is a limited combo of how I'm working to feed my dreams, doing all kinds of sports and activity in all kinds of weather and places!
AP History is just too much to read!  Have you carried one of those books?  It is the heaviest textbook I have ever had or seen.  The chapters were all so long, even with 2 weeks of snow days, I was still behind.  Reading American History was just not very interesting to me.  I find the history in the Bible much more enjoyable. (:
Creative Coffee Cup for Coach

Chick-fil-a is always doing awesome things for the community and providing excellent service for the customers.  The day we had Bible Study that was closest to Valentine's Day, all the girls were pleasantly surprised to open up their biscuits to find a heart!
More love for Valentine's Day!  The Trojan Nation needs to share more love among everyone.
My parents took a day to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge in February to go shop, shoot, and stuff (their bellies, that is) to celebrate their anniversary.

I absolutely love my small group.  It's always a party with Patty!  Hope and Julia (also in this picture) bring their own talents:  Julia-silent but deadly, and Hope-an amazing singing voice!  (They have many more talents, but those were just the 1st two to come to mind)

I know I have said in the past that I let things pile up when I get so busy with school.  Here is some visual and literal evidence.

Not only does Luna White Chocolate Macadamia now contain cashews, so does my mom!
Post-grocery goofies

 


Dad sent me these two pictures.  Glad to know that he thinks of me when he sees things relating to farts and poop...
In AP History, women's roles are an important topic.  One day that we had spent a lot of time talking about a time when women became much more involved in the community and workforce, moving from the traditional roles inside the home, even looking at some "Rosie the Riviter" advertisements, I decided to wear my Fight Like a Girl shirt.  We've got the power!
 

  

 Here are some more food things that I did over time:
Merica: yogurt, strawberries, blueberries
If you have never microwaved your eggs, you are missing out.  Another, "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!"
Not only did I discover that there are such things as purple potatoes, after cutting into them, I found that the whole thing is purple!  I added them to my roasted and seasoned vegetables.
Finally, homemade banana-pistachio pudding:  Ninja-blended frozen banana, milk cubes, pistachio pudding, and pistachios

 
A huge thanks to Coach Farmer for our new state champ shirts!  These are even better than last year's.
I really love my frozen yogurt places (like Sweet Frog, right) more than any desserts, but I've been to Marble Slab a couple times lately, too!  I'm trying to be more flexible and save some money.

This is the background image for the blog of Ryan and Sara Hall, my favorite pro running couple.  They love Jesus, are distance runners, have beautiful dogs (one of my dream breeds), and they are pretty themselves!  Their lives are dedicated to reaching and serving people all over the world for the Lord.
 
At the start of the new year, for several weeks, I set a small little goal of ways to help me stay focused on people other than myself.  Here's a couple for example.
Seeing the heading to this passage was encouraging!
Just browsing around one day, I found a page called WellPath that was full of picture quotes for an active life.

This one is from the instagram page of a brand called Detour Bar.
I saved this one because it is so true!  No matter how tough or terrible, satisfying or successful a situation may be, if you take the time to just "stop and consider God's wonders," (Job 37:14) peace can still be found.



Ya know that I love goats.  Kids are so cute!  (Goat kids and human kids, pun intended)

Mutts Comics also has an instagram!
It's almost time for Jaws to be on TV and Shark Week programs!  It had been an especially long day, but I was going with it, in a light and goofy mood, and improvised this remix on the spot while I was telling my parents goodnight.
 

 Goals.

My friend Chantal shared this one with me.  My response:  "Peanuts AND running?  This is too perfect!"
@snoopygrams will never fail to make you smile!
This page is even more likely to make you smile!
For about a week during my morning routines, I looked through year's worth of pictures from Daily Bible Verses's page on instagram.  Here are just a few of my favorites! 
I say that you should go follow this page!  If that's all you get from this post, GO TAKE A LOOK.  There will be verses for all situations and decorations!  It's impossible that you can browse through them without finding one that speaks to you personally.
 
Ending this one on a high note!
More to come!